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Post by browneyedgirl on Nov 2, 2010 20:49:55 GMT 9.5
Porches here in America can be in the front of the house or in the back or side of a house. Some are used like you mentioned, one goes in and then there is the front door with porch light, etc. Some Americans have back porches that they enclose to make it into another room and it can be used for entertaining (a lounge) or an extra bedroom or storage.
Cupboards: We use the term "closet" or "hall closet." Closets can hold our bed linen, bathroom linen like washcloths, towels, etc. A hallway closet can be for storage or like mine, I hang fall/winter coats in. Sometimes the hall closets will be designated for washer/dryer. Closets in bedrooms usually have doors (just think of it as a wardrobe built into the wall without the fancy artwork) and one can hang clothes up or store them in dressers.
In Italy, my relatives all have wardrobes (oh they are so lovely too) and when I visited England, in the B & B there was a small wardrobe. In hotels, motels, etc. in America one will find an open area to hang ones clothes/winter coat on. It is not a closet but just opened (imagine no wardrobe doors or sides but the back of a wardrobe with clothes rod).
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Post by browneyedgirl on Nov 2, 2010 21:08:23 GMT 9.5
I am not totally sure, but some Americans might refer to their kitchen pantry as kitchen cabinets. I call the 'cabinets' pantry for the long door style cabinets where food is kept. And as I watch a lot of Brit shows, I also call them cupboards (Americans call them kitchen cabinets or cabinets). OK, I am not sure on the quilt, but I usually hear it called a quilt and it is handmade. Our "blankets" (these can be made with cotton or other type of material) we use on cold nights whilst sitting in our living room on a sofa (ummm...lounge) or I add a blanket on top of my bed sheet and just under my bedspread for extra warmth on cold nights (this is snow country). Bedspread can also be called a comforter (a comforter/bedspread is usually decorative whilst being useful to keep one warm on cool/cold nights and it can be light/heavy depending on the seasons. Confused? Are the U pillows for neck/head support? Yes, we have those here. I sleep with rectangle pillows. We use pillowcases here to cover our pillows as part of the bed sheet linen. Interesting about your quilt covers. Are they white and if one wants decorative colors, is that what the cover is for?
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Post by Cullyn Of Cerrmor on Nov 3, 2010 7:41:35 GMT 9.5
Interesting about your quilt covers. Are they white and if one wants decorative colors, is that what the cover is for? While many people call them quilt covers they are actually dona covers. A dona looks similar to a quilt but has compartments filled with down feathers. Donas are generally white and plain, the Dona cover, which many call a quilt cover, covers the plain dona and protects if from wear and tear and dirt. Some dona covers are quilted and make them look like quilts. The benefits of a dona is you can shake them out and spread the down out for warmth or push some of them down to the bottom end if it is too warm. Do you have donas in the US or do you call them something else? Dona Covers, often called Quilt Covers
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Post by Chips on Nov 3, 2010 8:20:11 GMT 9.5
continental quilt n
(Clothing, Personal Arts & Crafts / Textiles) Brit a quilt, stuffed with down or a synthetic material and containing pockets of air, used as a bed cover in place of the top sheet and blankets Also called duvet (Austral.) doona
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Post by Cullyn Of Cerrmor on Nov 3, 2010 10:36:46 GMT 9.5
continental quilt n (Clothing, Personal Arts & Crafts / Textiles) Brit a quilt, stuffed with down or a synthetic material and containing pockets of air, used as a bed cover in place of the top sheet and blankets Also called duvet (Austral.) doona I know that is called a quilt but in reality it isn't as a quilt and a dona are two different things. Dictionaries often give the common usage of a word, as well as its actual meaning and some times just the common usage as the real meaning has fallen out of use.
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Post by Crystal Fox on Nov 3, 2010 14:01:04 GMT 9.5
I have always called a Doona a quilta and the same as the covers I call them quilt covers.
Do Americans have laundry's (a room where the washing machine, dryer, sometimes linen cupboard and a Big basin is.) Most of the time in pictures I have seen the washing machine etc is either in the kitchen or in the enclosed porch.
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Post by browneyedgirl on Nov 3, 2010 15:52:19 GMT 9.5
I understand duvet. Our "quilts" aka: comforters/bedspreads/quilts are one piece, and are not interchangeable. One would need to buy another bedspread/comforter/quilt if one wanted a different design. How interesting your dona/duvet/quilt. That red quilt/dona pic is lovely!
Apartments (flats) with washer/dryers generally (not all apartments or flats have washer/dryers in the unit) are located in a hallway (houses can be like this too). Some washer/dryers are in the kitchen or often one can find them in a garage or storage shed or on a back porch. Some homes/apartments (flats) have huge rooms for the washer/dryer and basin.
Do Aussies call apartments "flats?" or what?
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Post by Cullyn Of Cerrmor on Nov 3, 2010 16:07:17 GMT 9.5
Do Aussies call apartments "flats?" or what? No we call flats flats and apartments apartments. To be honest I'm not sure what the difference is other than the price, apartments are more expensive, than flats. But they, apartments, are not as expensive as town houses. The difference can be confusing, i.e. I live in a two bedroom house, which is smaller than the unit I sued to live in which had three bedrooms. Houses, Flats, Units, Town Houses, Apartments and so on are all different but the difference isn't always obvious. At least not to me.
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Post by Crystal Fox on Nov 3, 2010 16:46:53 GMT 9.5
I really enjoy this thread, seeing all the differences in our language etc. But sometimes it does make my head spin.
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Post by browneyedgirl on Nov 3, 2010 18:06:23 GMT 9.5
I know, I know. That is what makes the English language so funny sometimes. We are literally divided by a common language. We have townhouses/condo's/apartments/studio's that one can rent or own. We do not use the term flats, I get that from watching Brit shows. I am learning metric cooking measurements, is there really a 7/8 cup?
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Post by Crystal Fox on Nov 3, 2010 19:57:45 GMT 9.5
I haven't heard of 7/8 of a cup. I think that is a bit out there. Our main cup measurements are 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, 2/3 cup and 1 cup. If something needs more than 1 cup. Then we get told to use 1 1/2 cup etc. We also have, 1/2 teaspoon. teaspoon, 1/2 tablespoon, tablespoon, and desert spoon. Also grams and kilograms.
I actually used to have a mini spoon measurement set and it had measurements for a pinch, dash, tad, etc. It was cute.
It's quite funny that we use the metric system here in Australia but when it come s to birth weight we don't. My daughter was 8p 14oz. What is with that. I think it's weird. But in metric weight she was 4040g. But you don't tell people that when they ask how much she weighed. I certainly weigh myself using the metric system, so why not the hospital?
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Post by Cullyn Of Cerrmor on Nov 4, 2010 9:28:57 GMT 9.5
I think it is just tradition Crystal.
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Post by Mrs Chips on Nov 7, 2010 15:34:59 GMT 9.5
BEG regarding the naming of cupboards these are generally fixtures in kitchens, bathrooms etc. where as cabinets are generally moveable.
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Post by browneyedgirl on Nov 10, 2010 17:26:01 GMT 9.5
OK Mrs. Chips....I am confused on that one. Give me a little time and I will sort if out in my head. Another thing I find interesting is that British/Aussies have some differences in their usage of words/meanings. That can be confusing! Why do you call us Yanks? What is funny is that if one lives in the northeast of the US (New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, etc.) one can be called a Yank (short for Yankee) but I do not hear it per se anymore. So when I hear someone referring to a Yank, I think you all are talking about someone in the northeast of the US.
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Post by Crystal Fox on Nov 10, 2010 18:21:44 GMT 9.5
We don't call anyone from specific areas in America Yanks. We call ALL American Yanks. I don't know how it started. Just like people call Greeks - Wogs, Italians - Dego's, British - Poms, Australians - Aussies, English and Australian - Possies etc. Some people take offense to these names, but not all people sat it to be insulting. Unless of course it is in an insulting sentence etc. Wog used to be very insulting to the Greeks, but then an actor (can't remember his name) did a movie called Wog boy and had some humour to it. And now not as many people take offense. Does any of this make sense???
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